


The Itsy Bitsy Spider

by Sdktrs12



Series: Something Gained [1]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Slow Burn, Soft Rio (Good Girls), Unresolved Sexual Tension, but also asshole Rio, younger Beth/younger Rio AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:29:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21586897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sdktrs12/pseuds/Sdktrs12
Summary: AU Beth moves in next to Rio.This will be part of a series that follows Beth cashing in on some favors from Rio.Ratings and tags will change!
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Series: Something Gained [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1556221
Comments: 24
Kudos: 201





	The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Beth wakes up suddenly, sitting bolt upright in bed, clutching her sheets around her chest. 

She feels clammy, her breathing is labored, an uneasy feeling in her stomach makes it clench. 

She reaches over to her bedside table and clicks on the light, searching her bedroom for whatever has jolted her out of her deep sleep. Is there someone lurking in the shadows, waiting to kidnap and torture her? Is the building on fire, and she’s stuck in her room, about to be burned to death? Have aliens finally decided to invade Earth and the world is at war? 

Her eyes desperately scan every inch from floor to ceiling until they land on the reason behind the deep disturbing feeling that has her awake. It is so much worse than kidnappers or burning to death or alien probings. 

Beth stops breathing for a minute as the spider on the opposite wall of her bed creeps a little to the left and then stops again. 

This huge ugly stupid spider that has been her arch nemesis for the better part of a week now. She first spotted it in her dining room and had immediately ran to grab a shoe to squash it, except when she cautiously approached the spot it had been in, it was _gone_. 

Beth isn’t normally a screaming bundle of hysterics when it comes to bugs or spiders. But this particular spider seems to be taunting her, playing _games_ with her. She doesn’t care how crazy that makes her sound; she knows deep in her gut that it's true. It’s been popping in and out of different rooms for a week now, catching her off guard every time and then disappearing as quickly as it appeared. And it’s _huge_ , she swears it must be some mutant spider. Like the one at the end of IT, coming out after 30 years of slumber to kill her. Or like the Spiderman spider, just lurking and biding it’s time before it bites her and turns her into god knows what. Knowing her luck, it would give her some stupidly useless superpower, like having her breasts twitch whenever its about to rain or something. (And god, she really has to quit watching Mean Girls before bed). 

But now, this stupid smart spider is smack in the middle of her wall, clearly visible, with nowhere to hide for miles (well feet really, but whatever) and Beth is ready. She regulates her breathing, slow deep steady breathes as she pushes her bedding away from her slowly, sliding out of bed just as slowly and creeping over to her door. 

The spider scurries a few inches back to the right and Beth freezes, not moving, not even _breathing_ until it comes to a stop again. She finishes inching her way to her door. It’s half closed, but there’s just enough room for her to squeeze through it. Once she clears her bedroom door, she’s sprinting to her front door, grabbing a shoe and then sprinting back, coming to an abrupt stop outside her bedroom. She takes a deep breath, psyching herself up for this showdown. She slowly pushes the door open with one hand, her shoe gripped tight in the other hand. Her eyes go straight to the back wall, which is now _empty_. 

_Fuck, fuck, fuck_. 

Beth’s eyes dart around the room, before being drawn to the floor, where that demonic possessed spider is headed straight for her, moving faster than any normal spider should move and Beth is shrieking as she drops her shoe, spinning around and making a break for her front door, flinging it open and then slamming it shut behind her, bouncing around on her feet and shaking her hands out as she curses repeatedly under her breath. 

Beth is so distracted by the murderous thoughts she’s having, she almost doesn’t hear the throat clearing behind her. Almost. She whips around, coming face to face with one of her neighbors. 

Beth is still fairly new to this apartment building. She moved in a few months ago, after her wedding went south (She’d discovered her (now ex) fiance and her (now ex) friend together, apparently trying to sneak in a quickie before he walked down the aisle. Beth had promptly turned around and walked away from the whole wedding without a word). There are 4 apartments on this floor and she’s officially met 2 of the other tenants, a younger woman(in her mid twenties so around the same age as Beth) and a slightly older couple. 

And then there’s this guy. The one other tenant she hasn’t quite met yet. She’s noticed he’s hardly at home, and when he is, he’s usually quiet, doesn’t seem to want to draw too much attention to himself. 

Except he’s freaking gorgeous and he has a giant eagle tattoo stretched across his neck, so she wouldn’t be surprised if he actually did have a serious problem with attracting attention wherever he went. 

His golden brown skin seems to practically glow even under the garish hallway lighting. He has dark short cropped hair and heavy lidded deep brown eyes that are hard to resist falling into. He’s tall, all lean muscle and sharp lines, his cheekbones alone look like they could cut through glass. And then there’s that eagle, mid flight, on his neck, just begging for someone to lick along the lines of its wingspan. 

She’s only seen him in passing, exchanging quick smiles or brief “hello’s” before disappearing behind closed doors. 

Now he’s looking her over slowly, amusement dancing in those gorgeous eyes, and Beth is suddenly very much aware of the fact that she is not adequately dressed for social interaction. She’d fallen asleep in her boyshort panties and an oversized t-shirt (Which decidedly does _not_ offer sufficient enough coverage, barely covering her ass really) and nothing else. 

She’s sure she looks a hot mess all over really, it has to be past midnight and she’d been sleeping pretty heavily, exhausted after a busy day of working on orders from her Etsy shop. She’s probably got smeared makeup and drool on her face, and _god, her hair_. If aliens did decide to invade right now, she wouldn’t exactly protest. 

One hand comes up to pat at her hair as the other reaches down to tug down on the hem of her shirt, not accomplishing much besides drawing his eyes back down and Beth swallows thickly. 

“You aight?” He drawls, eyes slowly making their way back up to her face, lips twitching as he holds back a smile. 

She’s grateful that he does, doesn’t think she can handle a smile on that face of his right now, her brain is already short circuiting. 

Beth nods vigorously and then remembers the god damn spider and changes direction, shaking her head instead. 

He does smile then, a full blown smile that lights up his whole stupid beautiful face and Beth almost tells him to _stop_. 

“I’m sorry. God, I am so—just—I don’t normally hang out in hallways in the middle of the night in my underwear--” Beth is a stuttering mess and he’s just nodding along agreeably, like he’s totally following the direction of this conversation. 

She takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly, before deciding to start over. “There’s a demon spawn spider from hell lurking around in my apartment and I’m trying figure out how to counter attack.” 

As soon as the words leave her mouth, she regrets them. This is worse than the stuttering. She sounds insane. Or drunk. Maybe she can claim drunk insanity. 

But he’s just standing there, hands shoved in pockets, nodding still, like he’s seriously considering the words she’s said. “Aight, wanna walk me through what you got?” 

Beth blinks a little at him, before realizing he wants to hear what she’s already come up with as a plan of attack and she laughs. She can’t help it, this whole situation is so ludicrous, she feels like she must be in a terrible dream. 

“Well, I dropped my only weapon-- my shoe-- inside and I have nothing else with me. So, I suppose it’s his apartment now, I'll just have to find another one.” 

He huffs out a laugh, stepping a little closer and Beth’s breath catches in her throat. “Could burn the whole damn place down, really show ‘im who’s boss.” 

Beth laughs again, shifting slightly as she tugs at her shirt again. “Yes, that is always an option. I’m trying to be considerate of my neighbors though, don’t want to put anyone else at risk. They’re all such nice people.” 

“Oh, I’m sure not all of ‘em are nice.” He shoots back, eyes dark as he looks her over and Beth swallows thickly. He keeps stepping forward, until he has her backed up against her door and Beth’s hands fall away from the hem of her shirt, fisting them at her sides instead as she resists the urge to reach out and touch him. 

“You need a hand? I don’t like to brag or nothin’, but my kill count is pretty high. For spiders.” He makes sure to clarify at the end, like she might confuse it for something else. 

Beth’s just trying to remember how to breathe, his proximity is making it difficult for her to remember how to act like a normal functioning adult. 

“Well if I had known I was living next to a spider sniper, I would’ve asked for help a week ago.” 

He huffs out a laugh, his arm coming up as he leans in and Beth holds her breath... and then tries not to stumble backwards as he pushes her door open behind her. “After you.” He smirks down at her as she straightens up and turns quickly, trying to hide the blush that blooms across her face and chest. 

He reaches over to the light switch panel, flipping the hallway switch expertly and Beth shoots him a surprised look and he just shrugs. 

“Same layout.” 

She nods and turns back around but doesn’t move to step further into her apartment. She hears his huff of laughter behind her and she resists the urge to glare at him, eyes searching the apartment floor instead. 

“The little bastard chased me out of my bedroom so he could be anywhere.” She explains, gesturing out at the small hallway that leads out into her loft style apartment. The only full walls enclose her bathroom and bedroom. Everything else flows together. 

He nods, face faux serious as he moves past her and into her apartment. She cautiously tip toes after him, careful to inspect every surface before she takes a step forward each time. He is much less cautious however, taking long strides from one side of the apartment to the other, glancing around haphazardly and she feels like he’s not understanding the full gravity of this situation. He has obviously never had a mutant spider loose in his apartment. 

He finally stops at the door to her bedroom, still thrown open. “This your room?” He cocks his head, voice low and husky and Beth shifts a little at the heat it causes to pool low in her belly. 

She just nods her head and he gestures for her to follow as he steps in, and she stupidly does. Because why not follow the gorgeous guy to her inevitable doom from Satan's pet spider lurking in her room. 

He switches her bedside lamp on and looks around and she does too, her heart feeling like it’s going to beat right out of her chest. Is it from the fear of the spider or the fact that this guy (god, _she doesn't even know his name_ ) is in her room? Who knows, but she feels like he must be able to hear it because he’s just staring at her, that same amused look on his face he’s had since he found her in the hallway. And what the hell was he doing lurking out in hallway in the middle of the night anyway? And she’d just invited him into her apartment? No need for kidnappers to hide away in dark corners of her room if she's just going to open the door and invite them in anyway. 

Beth is seriously reconsidering her life choices when he lifts his hand up toward her face and slowly brushes her hair out of the way, his fingers trailing down and Beth shivers at his touch. 

Her brain is screaming at her to tell him he should probably leave, this is inappropriate on so many levels, she doesn’t even know him, and she still has a spider to deal with, but her body is purposefully and gleefully rebelling, leaning into his touch as he steps closer. 

“I don’t even know your name...” She hears herself whisper, like that’s really going to stop her. 

He smiles, his eyes traveling over every inch of her face, before he answers, simply, “Rio.” 

She nods slightly, her eyes stuck on his lips. She wants to kiss him, but he’s just told her his name and it’s only polite... ”I’m--” 

“Elizabeth. I know. Gotten your mail by accident a few times.” 

Beth blinks at that, eyes shifting from his lips back up to his eyes. “It’s just Beth, actually.” She automatically corrects, eyebrows furrowed, but god does she like the way Elizabeth sounds coming from his lips. 

He hums a little at that, like he doesn’t agree but he’ll placate her for now. He’s leaning in impossibly closer and Beth’s eyes feel heavy, almost closing... 

But something dark catches her eye and she’s turning her head and her blood goes cold again as her eyes zero in on the death spider, back on the wall across from her bed. 

“Son of a bitch.” She whispers and Rio is finally tearing his attention away from her and following her sightline and she feels him tense up as he sees it too. 

“Holy shit,” He says, eyes a little wider than they were before, “That’s a huge fuckin spider. I thought you was bullshittin’ before.” 

“I _know_ \--” Beth is nodding her head enthusiastically at his observation, feeling vindicated ( _finally_ ) at his confirmation that it is in fact, not a normal sized spider. But then the last part of his sentence catches up with her and she turns back to him, no longer nodding. “--Wait, what?” 

Rio’s eyes are still stuck on the spider, only half paying attention as he answers her, “Thought you was makin’ up some bullshit story, tryin' to hook up...” He trails off a little, as he finally turns back to look at her. 

Beth is speechless. Her mouth is hanging open and she has about a million things she’d like to say but she can’t seem to force any of them out. Instead, all that comes out is a high pitched “ _What_?!” that seems to throw Rio off enough that he takes a step back. 

He looks her over carefully, before realization sinks in. He at least has the sense to look sheepish as he runs a hand over his head and down to his neck, exhaling a deep regretful sigh. 

“Shit, I’m sorry, I thought this was somethin’ else.” 

“You thought I _lured_ you into my apartment under the guise _of a mutant spider_ in the middle of the night for a—a _booty call_?!” Her voice is still just this side of hysterical, but she can’t quite bring it down an octave with all of the horrifically embarrassing emotions taking over right now. 

“Well...yah.” He shrugs, like this explanation is extremely logical and Beth just feels like she wants to sink into the floor and never see him again. She’d almost take the spider over him right now, she is so completely mortified. 

Fuck. The spider. 

She whips her head back around to the wall and Rio does the same, like he’s just remembered at the same time as her. 

It’s miraculously still there and Beth breathes a sigh of relief at that. 

She keeps her eyes on the spider, but directs her words to him. “Listen, you owe me. Like, _hugely_. You owe me a spider killing and whatever else I can think of from now until forever for this horrifically awkward situation we are now in.” 

She can feel him rock back on his heels a bit and he's quiet for a minute, then, “Seems fair.” 

“There’s a shoe by my door that I dropped earlier,” She can’t help but add snarkily, “You know, the weapon I mentioned earlier when you thought I was asking for sex.” 

She can practically feel his eye roll, but he moves slowly over to her door without another word, and then he’s back beside her, too close, she thinks, but she doesn’t admonish him. 

“I’m going to leave now. You aren’t allowed to until you kill that damn thing.” 

“You jus’ gonna abandon me like that, ma?” 

She turns, looking him right in the eye. “Yup.” And then she’s walking out of the room and she hears him chuckle, say “Damn, that’s cold” before she’s moving into the living room, curling up on the couch as she anxiously waits. 

It’s quiet for a minute and then she hears a few loud thumps that have her clutching at her legs and then it's quiet again. 

And, god, she thinks, what if it jumped on him while he was trying to kill it and now it’s wrapping him up in a giant web to keep as a snack for later, like in The Lord of the Rings? 

She really needs to quit watching so many movies. 

Beth breathes a sigh of relief when she hears him moving around again, and then he pops into the living room, holding up a ball of tissue triumphantly in his hand. Presumably it’s the spiders makeshift coffin. 

“Garbage?” 

She tilts her head toward the kitchen area and he strides over, locating the garbage and dumping the tissue inside. 

“Are you sure it's dead?” She asks, eyeing the garbage can, and then him, suspiciously. 

“You got some real trust issues, darlin.” He teases, dropping down onto the couch beside her. 

Beth briefly considers asking him to leave, but he did just kill a spider for her, so she stays quiet. 

He rolls his head to look at her, his eyes scanning over her in that way he is wont to do. 

She remembers she’s still not wearing any pants and quickly pulls her throw blanket off the back of her couch, spreading it out over her legs. Rio smirks at her actions, as he is apparently endlessly amused by her. 

“You think you’ll be aight for the rest of the night or should I stay over? Keep you safe?” He teases, looking really unfairly comfortable in her apartment as it is, like it’s familiar to him, like he _belongs_. 

Beth rolls her eyes, resisting the urge to do something super immature, like stick her tongue out at him. “I’ve survived this long without you, I think I'll be fine.” 

He chuckles a little as he pushes himself up off the couch, giving her one last look before moving toward the hallway. 

Beth suddenly leans forward a little, wanting to say something, _anything_ , maybe even really ask him to stay... “Rio, wait--” 

But as soon as he turns her mind goes blank and all she can think to say is, “Thank you, really, for--” She gestures out and he smiles. 

“Any time sweetheart. You make sure you let me know when you wanna cash in on those other favors, yeah?” 

And then he’s gone and Beth is left feeling hot and breathless.

**Author's Note:**

> Thinking about turning this into a series with Beth cashing in on her favors....  
> (*edit- it's going to be a series ya'll 😊)


End file.
